How To: Bunny Baskets

My friend Britt did this great Spring craft project with her daughter's second grade class, and she was kind enough to photograph it all for our Skruben Blog. Enjoy!

Cutting woven-heart basket pieces for my daughter's class, I wondered how to adapt the pattern for other holidays. An image of a bunny basket came to mind and I came home and made a template. (You can download the template HERE.)

Tracing the pattern against a window is quick. The project then has fine pencil lines on it instead of dark ink and I don't have to run the printer for every basket. Trace the head of the bunny on one color and the tail on another color.

If I wasn't taking step-by-step photos, I would use colored pencil that matched the paper so it could show up less.

Fold the paper in half and cut along the solid lines.

Once the patterns are cut, fold them in the opposite direction so the pencil lines move to the inside.

The bunny tail can be slightly above or below center. Decide which looks best to you.

Weaving is the next step. Instead of Over and Under, think Through and Around. Through . . .

. . . and then around. And then through again. Both sides of the bunny should show the pattern identically.

Move on to the second piece alternating your starting pattern.

Before weaving in the final piece, make sure to scooch all the pieces up to the top as tight as possible. The last piece to weave through is tight and can be difficult.

That's it! The bunny is now a pocket.

Here is the inside view.

The handle can be taped or stapled to the inside.

By using paper-edging scissors or changing the number and width of slices, bunnies can be customized for a variety of looks. Make sure both the head and tail piece have matching numbers and widths of cuts, however, or the weave won't work.

Fill with something lightweight and festive. Felt could be substituted for the paper to make a more lasting treasure.

Note from my seven-year-old daughter: "I really liked making these. So did my class. I hope we can do it next year!" (Note from mom: The second graders had some difficulty doing this craft on their own, but their enthusiasm was huge!)